From a grand London flat that links old and new to a village where modernism sits within Victorian walls
Continue reading...Restored homes with interiors that sing – in pictures
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One in five UK children aged three and four have mobile phone, study finds
Rise in phone use by young raises public health question but experts caution against ‘screen time’ fears
One in five three- and four-year-olds in the UK have their own mobile phone, according to Ofcom research, and the rapid rise of phone use by very young children has brought the issue into the foreground as a public health question.
However, researchers in this area are generally keen to shift the narrative away from the “harms of screen time”, saying the uses of phones can be so varied that this theme is inaccurate and unhelpful.
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Tell us: Have you been affected by insolvencies of UK home builders?
We’d like to hear from people in the UK whose building contractor went bankrupt, and from insolvent business owners in the construction sector
While the UK construction sector grew by 1.3% in the final quarter of 2022, a report warned in January that a “perfect storm” of factors could lead to more than 6,000 company insolvencies in the UK construction sector this year, and that over 100 firms in the sector could collapse each week.
We’re interested to hear from people who have been affected by insolvencies of UK home builder businesses.
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‘Booker’s remorse’: Australian fine dining cancellations up 88% last year as punters turn to pubs
Schnitzels are in and souffle is out as the cost-of-living crisis bites and diners seek more affordable, flexible dining options
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Australian diners are trading souffle for schnitzel as the cost of living crisis bites. Fine-dining restaurants across Australia have experienced a 28% decline in bookings, while bookings at mid-priced pubs and cafes are rising.
In an analysis of over 3.79m bookings and 14.8m “covers” (hospitality jargon for customers served) during 2022, reservation platform ResDiary found diners are forgoing premium-end meals where the average spend per head is $81 or more.
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Millions of young adults living in poor quality housing, UK study shows
Up to 2.6 million people aged 18-34 in damp, draughty and cramped living conditions, says thinktank
One in six young adults in the UK are living in poor-quality housing, according to research that says damp, draughty and cramped living conditions are harming the physical and mental health of millions.
Resolution Foundation said Britain was facing a twin housing crisis as soaring rents and mortgage payments added to the pressure on people living in substandard accommodation, with young adults bearing the brunt.
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UK pensions: how much do you need to retire as the cost of living soars?
As inflation bites into pension pots, we find out what it takes to keep up your standard of living
The cost of living crisis is turning into a cost of retirement crisis as rising food and energy prices mean the amount of money you need to retire at a minimum living standard has increased by almost £2,000 in the last year.
In 2022 the minimum required to survive as a single pensioner jumped by 18% to £12,800 a year. Meanwhile, a retired couple now need a minimum of £19,900 a year – up £3,200, an even bigger rise of 19%, according to a study funded by the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) at Loughborough University.
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From budget art to disco planters: 20 cheap ways to give your home and garden a boost
You don’t have to splash the cash to refresh your living space
1.Fake your flowers
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UK pensions: how to make sure you get the best income in retirement
Experts offer tips on how to make the best of your contributions – and whether you could afford to retire early
The reason why one in three people won’t even reach the minimum income level in retirement is that they don’t have a proper national insurance (NI) record. You will usually need to have 10 qualifying years to get any new state pension, and 35 to get the full amount (although it does vary). No idea if you have enough qualifying years? Go to gov.uk/check-state-pension. It will give you a forecast for how much your state pension will be, and set out your NI contributions so far. But you will need to sign in using Government Gateway, or register for it if you haven’t used it before.
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Feel like quitting your job or your relationship? Maybe you should…
Politicians, media moguls, doctors, teachers and even Harry and Meghan have all thrown in their hats. So is grit and perseverance over? Gaby Hinsliff charts the rise of the quitters
When Julia Keller dropped out of graduate school at the tender age of 19, she was fully expecting a parental lecture on why she should tough it out. Instead, to her relief, her father offered to come and fetch her. What had felt like a terrible failure at the time actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise as she found her niche in journalism instead, working her way up over the next couple of decades into a senior position as book critic and feature writer at the Chicago Tribune newspaper. But when Keller decided just over a decade ago to quit journalism, too, in order to write fiction, this time her mother was horrified.
“Her generation, even more than mine, was very much, ‘You do not quit a good job that is paying you a fair salary! Your working conditions are not terrible, you’re not in a Dickensian workhouse, how dare you quit?’” she explains over Zoom from Ohio. “She just could not fathom why anyone would do that.”
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Are we returning to an era of delayed gratification? I hope so | Viv Groskop
Human beings can be well served by waiting around for pleasures. The truth is, healthy anticipation makes our lives more enjoyable
My grandmother lived to the ripe old age of 84. Her memorable life advice was: “Always have something to look forward to.” She was a great believer in not getting what you want: “As long as you want something, you have something to live for.” This is kind of depressing and counterintuitive “wisdom”, as it suggests that you will be best served by living in abject misery and in a state of constant yearning. And yet, she was right.
In my view, when we can have everything we want exactly when we want it, it doesn’t bring us joy. Human beings are best served by hope, anticipation and a bit of healthy waiting around. This relates to the vastly underrated ability to “save up”. It’s hard to save up money. It is maybe even harder to save up your attention or your excitement. Everything from Just Eat (literally impatience in brand nominative shape) to Klarna (the “payment plan” that promises the ability to “shop now, pay later”) suggests that the cult of “gimme now” has taken over. But I sense a disturbance in the force.
Viv Groskop is a writer, broadcaster and standup comedian
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
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More than 1m UK small businesses ‘trapped in high-cost energy tariffs’
Trade groups say many firms had to renew contracts at market peak in ‘biggest mis-selling scandal since PPI’
More than 1m small businesses may be paying energy bills significantly above market rates after becoming trapped in long-term contracts fixed when prices reached a historical peak last year.
Trade groups representing businesses from metalworkers to convenience stores have joined forces to warn of a “perilous situation”.
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How to buy the right laptop for you at the best price
Tech experts on how to work out want you need, set a budget and find the perfect device – or upgrade an existing one
“The first question we’d ask is: ‘What are you going to be using it for?’” John Webster, the managing director of Digital Doctors in Brighton, says. “That is ultimately what guides us in terms of recommending what a person wants to buy.”
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How can we release equity from our home as we start retirement plans?
The property is worth £330,000 and we have no dependants – we know a lifetime mortgage is one option
Q My partner and I are starting to plan for retirement and we are not sure what options we might have for our home when it comes to the time. The property is currently worth £330,000 and, all being well, will be owned outright by the time we retire.
We have no dependants and won’t have anyone to pass any inheritance on to, and so we would like to release as much cash from our home to use ourselves in retirement while remaining in the property.
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Scottish Power caused me distress after my father’s death
After he died it sent emails addressed to him, and I’ve been threatened with debt collectors
I am contacting you in desperation about the serious problems I am having dealing with Scottish Power after the death of my father last year.
When I notified it of AJ’s death back in September it closed his account and promised a cheque for his credit balance would be posted to me.
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Why bank blunders can turn your house move into a living nightmare
An already stressful day can become a weekend-long ordeal if funds fail to arrive in time to seal the deal
It was nine days before Christmas and Kate Ross and her young family were on the road from London to their new home in Worthing, West Sussex. But instead of moving in, a banking error left them in limbo with a baby, a toddler, a cat and a dog and two removal lorries. Four days passed before they eventually obtained the keys, during which time they racked up storage and transport costs of £3,600.
Ross’s saga is extreme, but not unusual. A processing glitch meant that the funds transferred by her buyer did not reach her solicitor’s account until four days after completion day, with four households in the property chain stuck in expensive purgatory.
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Energy firms to ban forced prepay meter installations in homes of over-85s
Exclusive: Suppliers in Great Britain will also make workers wear body cams as part of new code of conduct
Energy suppliers have agreed to a ban on forcibly installing prepayment meters in the homes of customers over 85 and will make representatives wear body cameras as part of a new code of conduct, the Guardian can reveal.
Suppliers have agreed to fresh guidelines for putting in the devices when households have run up energy debt after an outcry over agents using court-approved entry warrants to break in to install them.
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Cost of British food basics increases by up to 80% in a year
Cheddar and budget sausages sold by Asda were highest risers, with supermarkets’ prices for oats and skimmed milk also soaring
The price of staple foods such as cheddar cheese, white bread and pork sausages has soared by up to 80% in some shops over the past year, in further evidence of how inflation is hitting those on the tightest budgets the hardest.
Porridge oats topped the price increase ranking among a basket of British basics measured by the consumer group Which?, with prices up by an average of 35.5% followed by skimmed milk, which was up by 33.6%, and cheddar cheese, which rose by 28.3%.
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New prepayment meter rules must be properly enforced, says Grant Shapps
Suppliers in Great Britain have agreed code banning them from installations in homes of over-85s
The energy secretary, Grant Shapps, has urged Ofgem to turn words “into action” to ensure new industry rules designed to protect vulnerable people from being forced on to prepayment meters are properly enforced.
The Guardian revealed on Monday that all energy suppliers in Great Britain had signed up to a code of conduct banning them from putting the meters in the homes of people aged 85 and over as well as those with severe health conditions.
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Game of Thrones stars challenge big banks over fossil fuel links
Kit Harington and Rose Leslie attend ‘couples therapy’ in Richard Curtis film for Make My Money Matter
The Game of Thrones stars and real-life couple Kit Harington and Rose Leslie are co-starring in a Richard Curtis short film highlighting the “toxic relationship” between UK high street banks and the fossil fuel industry.
The Couples Therapy film is part of Curtis’s Make My Money Matter campaign to raise awareness of how consumers’ cash may be financing industries that are destroying the planet.
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Real value of UK pay continues to slide as inflation bites
Wage increases in February outstripped by rises in cost of living, as unemployment rate rises
The real value of UK workers’ pay has continued to fall at the fastest rate for more than a decade, as wage increases in February were outstripped by high inflation.
The Office for National Statistics said annual growth in average pay, excluding bonuses, held steady at 6.6% in the three months to February despite a small rise in unemployment and decline in the number of job vacancies.
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